Now I have to make another one. Normally I don't suffer from second sock/mitten/etc syndrome but right now I'd rather be working on something different. I could flake out and do more socks (still have two singles that need mates -- what did I say about not falling victim to 2nd sock syndrome?) or fire up the crockpot and dye the yarn for mom's Fair Isle cardigan. That will be her 2005 Christmas present, if I ever get around to it.
I traded some knitting magazines for two skeins of Fortissima sock yarn through the Knitswap community on Livejournal.
Swapping is satisfying. What isn't to like about sending away something you don't want and receiving in exchange the exact thing you've admired at the LYS? Thank you Kate!
Cautionary Tale: 2 or 3 years ago I received Lily Chin's HYUK book (not worth a link) as a gift and quickly determined it wasn't right for me. I offered it up in exchange for two skeins of Lamb's Pride Bulky or what-have-you. Someone wanted the book and she had two skeins of LPB in colors that appealed to me. Off went the book and I received two used (nearly half depleted) skeins of yarn. Sorry, was I supposed to specify I wanted two FULL skeins? I thought that went without saying. But I let it drop, it wasn't worth the hassle and I didn't pay for the book in the first place so it wasn't a huge deal to me. The trader probably received the yarn that way from a friend or ebay lot, the labels were a little loose but intact so it wasn't obvious some of the yarn was missing. I eventually used the blue yarn to finish off slipper soles so it wasn't a total loss.
The stupid thing is that I didn't learn my lesson, I neglected to ask if the sock skeins were full. It seems like a really uptight question to ask, doesn't it? The truth is I forgot about the bad trade completely until I was writing this entry, singing the praises of swapping and my brain reminded me about the time it didn't turn out so well. Ahem.
I visited my parents last week and mom showed me the kitchen washcloths I gave her a few years ago. They had reached the end of their usefulness on this earth. She asked for more so I whipped out six as soon as I returned home because she's my mom and she rocks, she deserves to use washcloths made from the finest cashmere, replaced daily -- but I used 100% cotton because it was on sale at Michael's for 97 cents/ball. (2 balls = 6 washclothes.) I bet Oprah uses cashmere washcloths, replaced daily.
The burgundy (wine) is a very attractive color, now I wish I bought 2 balls of wine and left the green at the store. Oh well, they're just silly washcloths. (The green looks good here but it's much worse in reality, it wasn't worth the effort to tweak it.)
I have a couple of book reviews to share but this entry is long enough so they'll be posted tomorrow.
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